It’s almost a national treasure for comic books so there was a lot of pressure when making this movie. Tomo was getting a lot of flack because people didn’t think he could play the character properly. Tomo knew this so he worked twice as hard to keep it real.

I hung out with Tomo frequently during the filming so I know how hard he worked on the movie.

The results speak for themselves.

He went through crazy physical training, weight loss, and boxing lessons and it really showed on film.

Here’s Joe, the main character. He came from the poor side of town and was always getting into fights.

This is Tomo in “idol” mode. He had to shake this image and get into fight mode.

Here’s Joe boxing against his biggest rival Rikiishi.

So how did the “idol” do?

I’d say not bad at all.

Intense sparring and boxing scenes.

A lot of real punches in slow motion so you can see it’s not fake.

They worked out 24/7 and only had like 5% body fat.

Yusuke Iseya, a model, plays Rikiishi, Joe’s rival. Rikiishi is a pro boxer who kicks Joe’s ass while the two meet in jail.

He senses Joe’s potential as a boxer and decides he needs to fight Joe in the ring to determine who is the strongest.

Yusuke Iseya’s real life weight loss and training for the movie will almost shock you.

This guy went balls out.

This is Danpei, his coach. Danpei sees Joe’s potential early on and convinces Joe to become a boxer.